Close Encounters of the Severus Kind
by Evan Ashling
Summary: Very lighthearted, Snape chills out a bit: Hermione has a drunken fling with a mysterious man, but wakes up to discover he's not exactly a stranger. Madness ensues!


-1Ayslin

Ari Hawk

"No, honestly, I can't dance!" Hermione laughed, attempting to push away the hand of the young man trying to pull her from her seat at the bar counter.

"Yes you can, Miss Granger, I have seen you dance before," the pale man responded suavely.

The curly haired girl tottered a little as he successfully slid her off of her bar stool and dragged her into the crowd of dancing people. "And where would you have seen me dansh?" she slurred, conceding to the relentless tugging.

The man didn't answer but tossed her playfully onto the dance floor, standing aside to watch her. "Go on. Dance."

"No, nononono, I'm not going to stand here dancing all by myself."

"No, you won't be standing, you will be dancing. And there are plenty of other witches dancing out there with you," he smirked as a heavily drunk witch fell into Hermione and then staggered away laughing insanely.

"You dance with me," Hermione yelled in his ear over the noise. "Come on, please?" She didn't wait for an answer but dragged the man onto the floor with her. He looked about frantically and tried to escape, but the tipsy witch pinned him into the crowd and began to shake her hips to the music, one hand on his chest.

"Really, no, I'll just watch," he struggled to get around her, but Hermione took hold of his hips and moved them to the music. He placed his slender fingers around her waist gingerly, his blonde hair falling in his face as he glanced around.

"There now, not so hard," she pressed her body against his and slid low. "Oh, I take it back," and she giggled. The other wizards in the Hogsmead club whooped as she performed a sultry dance around the man, who was now too shocked to move. It was clear he hadn't expected her to dance quite the way she was now dancing.

Hermione had escaped the drudgery of working in the Ministry to meet up with Ron, Harry, and Ginny in Hogsmead for a few drinks, but somehow she had allowed herself to accept more than just a few drinks from a stranger who seemed keen to talk to her. Harry and Ron were now sitting in a corner of the bar with their jaws dropped as Hermione gyrated around the stranger. Ginny was giggling and tugging Harry up to dance and Ron was beginning to wonder how many things about Hermione he had yet to learn.

The stranger seemed to be understanding the dancing now and was responding to Hermione's motions in more ways than one. Within a half hour, Hermione had him dancing like all the other wizards in the club and had managed to get him to initiate the moves. She was thoroughly enjoying herself, though she wasn't fully certain that she should be dancing this way with a perfect stranger. Well, they had talked for over an hour at the bar, but bar chat isn't exactly prime conversation. However, for a perfect stranger he did seem to understand her very well.

They danced for nearly an hour, then the man seemed quite ready to sit back down for a drink. He managed to drag her back to the bar and quickly ordered for them, taking a quick swig from a flask as he did so.

They tipped back another Peach Labyrinth and then Hermione whispered something in his ear. By now, Harry and Ginny were back in the corner with Ron, and all three were watching the unlikely couple at the bar. The man smirked and stood up. Hermione was leading him toward the door.

Ginny started up, "Oh no, this looks bad. We shouldn't let her go with him, she's had too much to drink." Ron and Harry had the same thought . All three were pushing toward the door, but the couple got outside first. Harry burst out the doors just in time to see them lip-locked, and then they apparated away with a crack.

Ron ran toward the spot where they had been, "We've got to find her! We shouldn't have let her down all those drinks. We all know she can't process them at all." They nodded solemnly.

"There's nothing we can do at this point," Harry sighed, wrapping an arm around Ginny, who had a silly grin on her face.

"I hope she'll be okay," Ron said with a hint of worry.

"I just hope she has fun," she glanced at the boys, who each made equally disgusted faces.

Hermione was snuggled in her blankets with a grin on her face. It wasn't normal that she woke feeling this way, but for some reason she felt happy. And yet she had a splitting headache. It slowly came to her that she had been drinking. And then she felt someone else move in the bed. Oh yeah. She wasn't in her bed at all.

The someone threw an arm over her side and pulled her closer and Hermione remembered bits of her wild night. She only wished that she knew his name. She glanced down at his hand, which was resting lazily on her waist. He had large hands. Large hands?

She sat up a little and examined his hand more. As far as she could tell, that was not his hand. The stranger from the night before had hands that were thin and long, delicate but insistent. These were large and strong. A jolt of something like panic shot through her and she turned slowly to look at the new stranger in her bed. Then she screamed and fell on the floor with a crash.

Severus Snape jumped and snatched up his wand. He looked around himself and then peered over the side of the bed. Hermione was clutching at the sheets desperately to hide her naked body, but she stopped with apparent terror when her former professor poked his head over the side of the bed.

For a moment, the two just stared at each other, then Hermione blushed scarlet and Snape blanched paler than he normally was. Severus flopped back on the bed, afraid to climb out and dress, and Hermione lay back on the cold wood floor in shock. They lay like that for a while, each with mounting dread.

Hermione's voice cracked as she made a feeble attempt to begin sorting something rather more complicated than she had ever expected to deal with. "Erm, P-Professor?" she winced as the bed creaked.

His head poked over the side of the bed slowly and somewhat reluctantly. "Miss Granger?"

"What happened?" she asked, at loss for words.

"Well, it would seem that we-"

"Never mind. Don't answer that."

They stared at one another in silence for another long moment, then both jerked back and stared at the ceiling.

"I suppose we should start using our first names," Hermione began, trying to think logically.

"Right."

Hermione glanced about on the floor for her clothes, but then she remembered leaving them in some other room of the house. If she wasn't mistaken, her clothes were scattered in nearly every room around the house.

"So, um, Severus, why were you in Hogsmead?"

"I was bored. And what about you, Hermione?"

"I was meeting some friends."

They lay in silence again. Severus broke the stillness, "Are you sure that we…?"

Hermione's sore hips twitched slightly. "Yeah."

"Ah," she heard more creaking of the mattress. "So it would seem."

"Why were you in disguise?" Hermione began again, asking the question that now hammered her mind.

"I don't suppose I'm very popular after the end of the war. It seemed safer."

"I suppose that's a matter of perspective," Hermione cringed, feeling the spot where her shoulder had hit the floor.

"Yes." Another silence, then, "should we get dressed?"

"Alright." Hermione rose from the floor, careful not to look where Severus was. They avoided each other as Hermione slid out of his bedroom and began the hunt for her clothes.

She found her blouse first, thrown across a chair. Then her shoes. She needed some sort of undergarment to put on, but she couldn't find anything. She slid the blouse on, though it was white and displayed her assets all too clearly. Then she spotted her panties. Somehow they had ended up on top of a tall bookshelf. She stretched up, trying to reach them, but couldn't quite make it, even on tiptoes. She put her foot on the first shelf and tried to boost herself, but worried that she would break the shelf.

Hermione cast about to find something to use to retrieve her undergarment, but froze when she saw Severus standing in the doorway, his hands stopped in the middle of buttoning his shirt, his mouth slightly open and his eyes scanning her figure in surprise.

The thin white blouse was covering very little and Severus did not seem to mind. Hermione's first instinct was to run, but she knew that would only provide more of a show and be quite uncomfortable. Then her mind stopped working as she noticed his toned abdomen. His pale chest had light red scratch marks that made her shudder with something that she recognized immediately as desire.

His dark hair was tangled around his face, his dark eyes stood out on his white skin. Hermione had always been attracted to older men, but she had never truly appreciated her potions professor for the fine specimen that he was.

Without realizing it, both of them had started toward one another and momentarily were caught about the lips with a passionate frenzy that was tinged with familiarity. It seemed all too easy to give in to their desires.

They thought vaguely of the bizarreness of the situation, then forgot about everything and returned to the bed once more.

"I don't know, maybe we should contact the Order," Harry turned to Ron who was pacing the floor of Harry and Ginny's apartment. "No one has heard from her. It's nearly four in the afternoon. It's not like her to stay out of touch so long. She should know that we would be worried about her."

"What if that man was a Death Eater?" Ron said wildly. "No, listen," for Ginny had given him a sarcastic look. "What if he was a Death Eater who had drunk polyjuice potion and gone to the bar in disguise. He could have been anyone, maybe Malfoy or Crabbe," now Harry was starting to look at Ron with the same look Hermione always gave him. "Or maybe it was Snape!"

"Come off it, Ron. You know Snape's on our side. He's not with the Malfoys anymore."

"How do you know that? They were mates before the war, who says they aren't still? That Snape is a sneaky weasel. I wouldn't put it past him to turn coat and join Malfoy."

"Ron, if it was a Death Eater, I doubt that it was Snape," Ginny chided patiently. "I think we ought to contact Lupin about this. He'll know what to do."

In less than ten minutes, Harry, Ron, and Ginny had flooed Lupin and Tonks and explained the entire situation. Lupin stared at them with a look of pensive worry.

"You're right to be concerned. I think we ought to alert the rest of the Order and ask them to be on the lookout. I'll start making the rounds and you three and Tonks should take a look around Hogsmead. I'll send up red sparks in the square once I have information and we will meet there."

Tonks stepped through the fire and tripped over the fire poker, bracing herself against Ginny as she stood back up. She screwed up her eyes and her hair turned from long and chestnut to short and pink so that it was out of her face. Lupin gave them a final farewell and disappeared from the fire to begin the alert.

He chose to find the senior members of the Order first, consulting Minerva immediately. After contacting all the others, he pressed his lips together and resolved to contact Severus Snape. He never did like speaking with Severus although he had never borne a serious grudge against the man. The poor fellow was lonely and troubled.

He scattered the glittering powder in the fire and then poked his head inside the flames. "Spinner's End!" he shouted, and soon his head was revolving very quickly away to the small cottage.

He looked around, trying not to disturb the ashes in the fire too much. "Severus!" he called out. "Severus! I need to speak with you." He listened, and then he heard a deep and tortured moan. Lupin quickly pulled his body through the fire and onto the worn rug. He drew his wand and moved toward the sound. Severus sounded wounded. Perhaps there had been an attack.

The sounds were coming from a door toward the back of the house. Lupin pushed up his sleeve and held his wand ready. All at once he burst into the room and aimed his wand at the bed where it seemed Severus was being attacked by someone under a sheet. Then he heard the female moan and Severus opened his eyes and looked right at Lupin, who recognized the activity on the bed at once and flew back out the door in a mad rush, slamming it behind him.

"What was that?" he heard the female voice whisper.

"It would seem that we have a visitor," Snape replied smoothly. "What do you want, Remus?"

Lupin cleared his throat and tried to speak. He hoped he didn't have nightmares about this. "Is that, erm, Hermione, in there? With you?"

"Yes," Hermione began uncomfortably. "Lupin, what are you doing here?"

"We were worried when you didn't contact us. I have been alerting the Order about your disappearance and was just coming to tell Severus when I thought I heard an, erm, attack."

There was a very awkward silence. "Alright. Well, erm, everything is fine here."

"Good. Well then, I'll be leaving," Lupin said warily, then he apparated away with a soft pop.

"This day just keeps getting weirder," Hermione muttered, pulling Severus back into bed.

Ron, Harry, Ginny, and Tonks rushed into the square to find a much more pale than usual Lupin. He looked harassed and bothered, adding to the nervous worry quickly spreading amongst the four.

"You- found her?" Ron panted, clutching at his side.

Lupin nodded stiffly, Ron's eyes widened.

"Is she alright?" Harry demanded.

"Well, actually, I'm not sure. I doubt she is if she's- well, I found her with Severus," Lupin began uncomfortably.

"The bastard!" Ron and Harry yelled before disapparating.

With a pop, the boys appeared outside Spinner's End, each in a fury. Their wands were drawn and held at the ready as they forced into the cottage home and began to look around. It seemed fairly normal; the usual clutter of books and dismal furniture were all in place, except-

"Harry, look!" Ron whispered, pointing with his wandless hand. A shoe lay on the floor. The same shoe Hermione had been wearing in the club. Harry looked closer.

"It appears she put up a fight. That bookcase looks rumpled. I bet she was dragged in here," he pointed toward the door, "then kicked at him, causing her shoe to fly off. She was bumped against the bookcase and forced down there," he looked up at the hallway.

They heard a groggy sound from some back room.

"Hermione!" Ron shouted, forgetting his Auror training and rushing down the hallway. Harry didn't pay much attention. He had just spotted a pair of black silk panties hooked on the rumpled bookshelf. Coupled with the groggy moan, he didn't care much to see what was in the back room.

"You could have stopped us!" Ron yelled angrily at Lupin. "You ought to have explained yourself fully! That wasn't something I ever wanted to see!" Ron shuddered convulsively and Harry patted him awkwardly on the back. He hadn't actually been in the room, but he had heard the mingled cries of frustration and extreme disturbance.

"You didn't wait for an explanation."

"Well why the bloody hell was Hermione doing _that_ with _him_?"

"I don't have any clue," replied Lupin, who was staring vaguely off into space with a look of awed revulsion. Ron rubbed his eyes hard as if the image might erase from his mind if he pressed hard enough. Harry, meanwhile, was screwing up his face and trying to forget how to hear noise.

Ginny shrugged. "I suppose it is a little strange, but-"

"A _little _strange? A _little strange_?! Ginny, what is wrong with you?"

"Nothing. I'm just saying that Snape is, well, he isn't a complete loss. Anyway, I still think I'd better have a good chat with Hermione about all this. Harry, I'll be at Hermione's waiting for her to get home."

Harry nodded grudgingly and tugged his earlobe in hopes it might shut off his mind.

Minerva McGonagal was pacing in the headmistress's office. It wasn't normal for Hermione to go missing like this. She had much more sense than to go off unreported, especially in the aftermath of the war. The wizened old witch thought for a while longer, then made up her mind.

She tossed some green powder into the flames of her fire and ordered her head into Spinner's End. If anyone knew what Lucius and his followers were up to, it would be Severus.

McGonagal peered out of the fire just in time to see two naked bodies locked in a sort of life-struggle as they pressed up against a number of surfaces and made quite a display of creativity. With a little gasp of surprise that caught the attention of the pair, she left the fire.

"This is getting irksome," Snape's velvet voice purred.

Hermione shook her hair out of her flushed face. "So it is. Perhaps we should relocate."

"Good gracious, Remus! You couldn't have warned me faster, could you?" McGonagal's shrill voice pierced the round office. "I saw quite a bit more of Miss Granger and Severus than I ever wished to see!"

The portrait of Albus Dumbledore smiled serenely, "Ah, is that what was going on? I always thought they might make a lovely couple. Alas, I could not live to see the day that my supposition came true! I do think I should inform Alastor. He will find it all amusing, and I daresay he owes me nine sickles and a dung bomb now. We have been betting on this since Miss Granger reached the third year!" And he strode out of his portrait, leaving the room in a very uncomfortable silence.

Lupin blinked nervously, "I suppose we'd better call off the hunt then, before anyone else tries to gouge out their eyes."

Ginny had just finished brewing a pot of tea in Hermione's apartment and sat down to reflect on the situation that confronted her. She conjured a plate of biscuits and jam and absentmindedly nibbled at the corner of a ginger newt. It was odd that Hermione was suddenly attracted to Snape, yes, but not entirely improbable. Ginny had actually wondered at times why Harry hated the man so much. He had really given a lot to their side of the war, despite his seeming betrayals and fickle mind.

Her thoughts had strayed to the Order and the war when there was a sudden crack and Hermione and Severus appeared, half clothed and lip-locked, on just the other side of the coffee table and directly where Ginny had been staring without a thought. All at once, Ginny shrieked and flung herself over the back of the sofa, Hermione caught sight of Ginny's flaming hair as she flew over the back and had jumped, which caused her to hit Severus's nose and he consequently jumped back and tripped over the fire pokers and sent him sprawling on the ground.

Ginny cowered on the other side of the sofa, half amused and half disturbed to see her best friend and former potions professor in such a state. Hermione was standing topless in the middle of her living room holding her blouse and shoes; and Severus lay in a heap, also topless, with his shirt tossed across his face and one arm flung over a nearby armchair.

All three stood (or lay sprawled) for a moment, then Ginny squeaked "Tea's on the table," and dissaparated with a pop.

Hermione began to laugh and Severus threw his shirt off his face angrily, rising to face his newfound lover.

"I beg of you, what is so funny about our situation?" he said in dangerous tones.

Hermione swallowed her laughter and pulled her bra and blouse on as she spoke. "Well, we've just been found out by about all of my closest friends."

"Walked in on by half the Order, you mean?"

"Well, more or less. Tonks hasn't-" but just as she spoke, Tonks' head appeared in the fire.

"Gin- Oh! She's gone then. Erm, bye," and she swirled away again.

"Alright, then that takes care of Tonks."

Severus glowered at her.

"You know you look extremely sexy when you do that," Hermione stated matter of fact. "So it wont work if you are trying to frighten me."

He seemed somewhat deflated at this news, but also straightened up a little and considered this. He took a menacing step toward her and attempted to tower over her.

"Nope. Still seductive."

Snape was beginning to feel exposed without his billowing robes to add to his fearful mastery. He was considering conjuring them when Hermione broke his thoughts.

"And the robes wont help you either. They just make me want to ravage you," she finished buttoning the last button of her blouse, then wrapped her arms around his waist and kissed his bare chest, banishing all thoughts of intimidation tactics from Severus' mind.

Parvati Patil spun into the flames holding a fluttering chicken. "Hermione, you there? I've got that chicken we were talking about at work- Oh! Oh? Oh…" and she was gone again.

Severus scowled. "You have far too many visitors for comfort, Miss Granger."

"Now now, don't start talking like that or I will begin to confuse you with my potions master," Hermione chided. "That wouldn't do at all." She started kissing a trail across his chest to his shoulders.

"Of course that could be kinky," Severus purred in her ear. "If you're into that."

Hermione stopped and gave him a sour look, then she spun around and conjured a cup of Ginny's tea.

"What?" Severus whined, helping himself to a biscuit.

Hermione sipped her tea without looking at him.

Severus didn't understand the sudden coldness. "What? You didn't seem to mind when we were at my-"

"Is that all this is to you? Some kinky rendezvous?" She slammed her cup onto a saucer which cracked. At the same time she shouted "Reparo!" and the pieces seamed back together.

Severus seemed quite taken aback. "No! Hermione, no, not at all." He sat next to her and attempted to slide closer.

She whipped around to face him so quickly that her hair made a swishing noise as it cut the air. "Not so fast, Professor, you'll have to pay for that remark," and then she began to kiss him sensually.

Severus was confused by this, since the kinkiness had been what had angered Hermione in the first place, but he chose not to question it as Hermione was consuming his attention at the moment. Just as he was ready for another throw, Hermione broke away and strode into the back room. Severus jumped up to follow her, but she shut the door in his face, locked it, and soon he heard running water.

"Hermione?"

"I'm taking a shower, and I suggest you pop home and do the same. We're going shopping."

He stood staring at the door until he heard the sliding of the shower curtain. Quite hot and bothered, he grudgingly apparated back to Spinner's End.

"Why are we going shopping?" Severus whined as Hermione dragged him through the muggle mall.

"It's part of your punishment. I need some new muggle clothes and I think we need to get to know each other more after last night," she stated and pulled him into a large department store. "This way," she pulled him toward the escalator, which Severus found amusing.

"Hermione, why do I have to wear this?" He grimaced down at the blue collared shirt that Hermione had conjured for him earlier.

Hermione stopped and appraised him critically, "Well, I didn't expect that," she raised an eyebrow. "You prefer the nude?"

"What?"

Hermione nodded to herself and began walking again, "I didn't think that was what you meant."

"But it's…"

"Yes?"

"Blue."

Hermione gave him another sidelong glance. "Yes… I daresay it is… what of it?"

"Hermione, do I look like a man who prances around wearing blue shirts and… and these pant things? Tackies?" he hissed.

"They're khakis. And no, I don't suppose you've ever worn anything other than black. And I think you need to diversify."

"I don't want to," he said stubbornly.

Hermione waved him away like a fly. "Here we are. I need something suitable to wear to my cousin's wedding in October. You can help me look."

Severus, who had never actually shopped in a muggle store, was finding the whole process quite extraordinary. Hermione kept holding up pre-made skirts and dresses and asking his opinion.

"What about this one?" she said, waving a pink skirt and black top at her companion.

"It's-" Severus started.

"No, okay, well how about this? I like the colour. But no-" she rejected a purple dress.

Severus was getting dizzy with all the new concepts. Apparently the muggles made all their clothes ahead of time and then left them out in large numbers and styles in hopes that each piece would find a willing owner. He didn't see anything like Madam Malkin's where she tailored the robes to the buyer.

Suddenly, Severus spotted the very best department of muggle clothes. He slid quietly away from Hermione, who was busy debating over the price of another dress with herself. It was fantastic. He wasn't sure why muggles didn't wear them all the time. He was sure he wouldn't mind if this fashion trend became popular with the witches. It was quite attractive.

"I think this might be it. But is the colour right with my hair? Severus? Severus, where did you go? Severus!"

The tall man tossed his silky black hair away from his face and looked at Hermione innocently. His arms were laden with various lacy bits of lingerie.

"What in the world are you doing?" said with a mixture of embarrassment and a laugh.

"Can you wear this to your cousin's wedding?" he held out a sheer camisole timidly and watched her expression.

"Heavens, no! Those are all undergarments, silly." She took the camisole from his arms to put it back, but then looked at it thoughtfully.

"Oh," he mumbled, looking at another camisole of black mesh. "What exactly are these for? They don't appear to, erm, hold anything in. Or cover anything, really." He tried to hide his disappointment that they were not intended to be worn by themselves.

Hermione shrugged. "Well, some of it is for wearing under shirts. It makes everything smoother. And some are just for the bedroom," she added as Severus discovered something hideously adorned with feathers and jewels.

"So it would seem," he murmured, placing the object back on the rack gingerly as if he were afraid it might spring to life. He glanced about at the other pieces of lingerie. And then he smiled wickedly. Hermione had gone back to try on some of her choices. Severus looked around to see if anyone was watching, then snatched something from a rack and hurried to catch up with Hermione.

The dressing rooms were co-gender, so Severus went to wait and see Hermione's final choices. She modeled each outfit for Severus, who shrugged at each. Finally she came out in a dress that displayed her curves nicely. He thought she looked beautiful. But still he only shrugged. It was just too pink.

"What don't you like about these dresses?" Hermione said with exasperation.

Severus stared for a bit. Then he glanced around, pulled out his wand, and muttered something under his breath. The flirty pink dress became deep black, and with the color change it also became quite sexy.

Hermione looked in the mirror for a bit. "Alright. I agree. We'll just switch it back while I buy it," she flicked her own wand and it turned back to the pratty pink. She disappeared into the dressing room again. "Then I guess that's it. I'll just change back and- What's this?"

Severus had tossed the lingerie he had selected over the door to Hermione. "Something I thought we might enjoy" he purred.

He heard Hermione unsnapping the many hooks and whisper a spell that cinched her in. Momentarily, Hermione was modeling a lacey black corset top for him.

"Actually, Severus, I do think that this is considered a shirt as well. So I can wear it the next time we go out." Exceedingly happy that some lingerie was appropriate for wearing around, he hurried Hermione back to change so that he could play with the corset at home, preferably with Hermione in it.

In no time at all, they had paid for the dress and top and were back in the mall.

"So do you forgive me, or are we still punishing me?" Severus whispered as they left the department store.

"You are forgiven. But we're going to make one more stop."

"Where are we going?"

"Shoes."

Needless to say, Severus suffered a long and excruciating punishment for his careless comment about kinkiness. However, he felt it was all worth it once Hermione put on the lacy black corset for him. After a very interrupted dinner, they lay exhausted on Hermione's couch.

"Hermione?" Severus asked quietly after they had caught their breath.

"Mmm?"

"I think we need to talk."

There was a pause in which Hermione grew quite still. "Mmm-hmm."

"We need to discuss where our relationship is going."

More silence. "Mmm-hmm…."

"Meaning to say, we did jump into things rather quickly," he began rapidly, realizing how he sounded to her; though after that interrupted dinner, there was no chance he would be breaking up with her.

"I want this to be, well, more than, erm, well," he broke off, unsure what to say. "We don't really know each other."

"Mmmmmmmm. Mmm-hmm," she pensively agreed.

"We ought to take some time to get to know each other the way we should know each other."

"Mmm. Mmm mmm mm mmmm mmmm mmmmmmm?"

"Yes, it can wait till morning."

"Mmmmmm."

"You're welcome."

"Mmmm mmmmm."

"Goodnight," Severus reached across Hermione's tired body and clicked off the light.

When Severus woke up, he rolled over and looked across at Hermione's sleeping body. It was Sunday, one last day before she had to go back to work. One last day before he had to go back to spending his afternoons alone. At one time he would have welcomed this solitary confinement. He looked on it as a reprieve from the drudgery of interacting with society.

But now he felt a pang of uneasiness. He stared at Hermione as he thought. Would she really want to stay with him after their initial weekend of lovemaking? Maybe she would grow tired of him and he would have to go back to his daily routine of being alone.

Two days ago he had decided to go out to the club just to people watch. Who knew that toying with the Granger girl would prove so life-changing? She had only come home with him because she thought that he was someone else.

She had been terrified of him when she realized who he was.

What if she had only slept with him out of fear? What if this whole thing was a result of sheer terror?

He couldn't bear it anymore. Severus rose out of bed and dressed quickly. Surely she was afraid of him. The thought overwhelmed him as he strode from the room. There was only one thing left to do.

Hermione woke up alone. Severus was no where around. She slipped on her clothes from the day before and wandered out of the room.

In the living room, amidst all of his books, sat Severus. He seemed to blend into the dark and worn books in his billowing robes. As she walked in she smiled, but the smile fell from her face when he refused to meet her eye.

"What is it?"

He still sat in his sullen mood. Hermione began to move toward him when suddenly he jumped up and grabbed her wrist. She jumped back startled and looked up at him with wide eyes.

Severus watched her reaction for a bit, then took her hand.

"I realize that I have little to offer you. I am already once retired, a former professor, and what makes matters more complicated is that I once taught you. How we came to be standing in this same room so many years later is almost a mystery to me.

"But I do know this much: I love you Hermione. And I don't want to be alone with my thoughts anymore- I want someone to talk to. I want someone who will be there with me as time goes by."

Hermione was shocked, her eyes frozen huge and round. Severus swallowed and continued, reading her expression as fear. "If you do not feel the same way, then I must ask you to tell me now and not bother me again."

For a moment she just stood there, then she stepped forward and hugged him. "Severus, I'm not going to leave you. I don't ever want to leave you." Something suddenly took her mind and she pushed away from him enough to look into his eyes. "Severus, let's get married."

"What?"

"Let's get married. Not today or anything, we can wait a while, but let's not pretend that we're not perfect for each other."

This took Severus a while to digest. It was true, they were perfect for one another. He felt so comfortable with her, she understood him. Even in the past two days, he had come to realize that she was the only person he had ever wanted to spend time with.

"Okay," he said slowly. "Okay, let's do it."

She smiled wider than she had in a long time.

And then they did it. For an hour.

As Hermione lay next to Severus after they were done, she rolled over and looked at him.

"Maybe you should meet my parents."

Severus looked back at her and couldn't help but laugh at her practicality.

"Yes Hermione, I daresay we are meant for each other."


End file.
